American Art
The foundation of the collection
American painting is the focus of the Georgia Museum of Art’s collection of American art, which began with a donation of 100 American paintings by the museum’s founder, Alfred Heber Holbrook. Nineteenth-century works include those by George Cooke, Albert Bierstadt, Thomas Eakins, Winslow Homer, George Inness, Elizabeth Jane Gardner, James McNeill Whistler, Childe Hassam and Frederick Frieseke. The collection is especially strong in early-20th-century paintings with important works by, among others, Stuart Davis, Reginald Marsh, Georgia O’Keeffe, Ben Shahn, Jacob Lawrence and Andrew Wyeth. Late-20th-century painters in the collection include Charles Burchfield, Alice Neel, Helen Frankenthaler and Elaine de Kooning, and the museum continues to acquire works, including those made in the 21st century. A gift by Larry and Brenda Thompson of 100 works by African American artists immeasurably enhanced the American art collection and has its own section on this website.
More About Our American Art Collection
Works on Paper
The museum has an exemplary collection of works on paper ranging from the 16th through 20th centuries, including prints, drawings, watercolors and photographs. These holdings are especially strong in American art from the 1930s and early 1940s, including many Works Progress Administration prints.
Thompson Collection
The Larry D. and Brenda A. Thompson Collection of African American Art includes the work of both celebrated artists and artists considered emerging, regional or lesser known. In 2012, Larry D. and Brenda A. Thompson donated 100 works to the Georgia Museum of Art from their prominent collection of works by African American artists, as well as funding an endowment to support a new curatorial position at the museum for African American and African Diasporic art.
The Thompson collection includes paintings, prints and sculpture dating from the 1890s to the present. Exhibited in both special exhibitions and in our permanent collection galleries, the works provide a broader and more complete understanding of American art. Artists with work in the collection include Radcliffe Bailey, Amiri Baraka, Romare Bearden, Camille Billops, Joseph Delaney, Norman Lewis, Charles E. Porter, Henry Ossawa Tanner, William T. Williams and Hale Woodruff.
Contemporary Art
The museum has always collected contemporary art. Founder Alfred Heber Holbrook bought Jacob Lawrence’s painting “Children at Play” in 1947, the same year Lawrence painted it. Former director William D. Paul acquired works by Joan Mitchell, Gregory Gillespie, Kyohei Inukai, Red Grooms, Philip Guston and others that were brand-new at the time. In 2019, John and Sara Shlesinger of Atlanta donated 110 works of contemporary art to the museum(opens in new tab), including an early spin painting by Damien Hirst. Their focus in doing so was on the University of Georgia students who would benefit from studying those works in person.
In recent years, the museum has again made an effort to purchase works of contemporary art from living and underrepresented artists, including Kent Monkman, Signe Kongsgaard Mogensen, Kei Ito and Nancy Baker Cahill.
Self-Taught Artists
Works by self-taught artists (also referred to as folk art, vernacular art and outsider art) are a recent emphasis of the Georgia Museum of Art’s collecting philosophy. Major gifts by collectors Gordon W. Bailey, Carl Mullis and Ronald and June Shelp have included works by Minnie Adkins, Andrea Badami, Thornton Dial, Howard Finster, Denzil Goodpaster, Joe Light, Charlie Lucas, R.A. Miller, Royal Robertson, Sulton Rogers, O.L. Samuels, Mary T. Smith, Mose Tolliver and Purvis Young. These works have served as the basis of several exhibitions with accompanying award-winning publications, including “Amazing Grace: Self-Taught Artists from the Mullis Collection”(opens in new tab) and “Lord Love You: Works by R.A. Miller from the Mullis Collection.”(opens in new tab) Several large works are on display in the museum’s permanent collection galleries.
The Mullis Collection
Since 2001, Carl and Marian Mullis have donated more than 400 works to the Georgia Museum of Art. The Mullis Collection focuses on American Scene prints and paintings, works by southern self-taught artists and southern stoneware and decorative art. It includes works by John Stockton de Martelly, Jackson Lee Nesbitt, Lawrence Beall Smith, members of the Meaders family, the Hewell family, the Crocker family, Jimmy Lee Sudduth, Howard Finster, Mose Tolliver, R.A. Miller, Mary T. Smith, Lonnie Holley and many others. Several works are on display within the galleries dedicated to American art and decorative arts.
